In 1852, marine biologist and naturalist Philip Henry Gosse made his first serious attempt to create a marine aquarium. It was instantly popular, both as a scientific means of looking at the sea, but also as an incongruous and fashionable trinket for Victorian society.  

He wrote up his findings, based on work in south Devon, in this book, which became a best seller, just as the craze for aquariums was taking off.

Part aesthetic representation of the marine aquarium, and part instructions on how to construct and manage one, it served well as a promotional tool for his new invention. The lavish illustrations added to the luxury and appeal of owning one of these new contraptions.

There’s a good blog introduction to the book on the Devon and Exeter Institution website.

And you can read the whole thing on archive.org